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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27305620">Love Is Enough</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightSystem/pseuds/StarlightSystem'>StarlightSystem</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Fluff, Gen, It is fluff i promise, It's also an AUAU though because we don't have enough of those right? haha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:49:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,031</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27305620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightSystem/pseuds/StarlightSystem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper and Mabel move to Gravity Falls once it becomes clear that their parents don't know how to raise a demonic son. This time, however, their parents come with them, and the Pines family is able to grow closer as a result.</p><p>A sub-AU of <a href="https://transcendence-au.tumblr.com/">Transcendence</a>.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love Is Enough</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was my submission for the 2020 <a href="https://transcendence-zine.tumblr.com/">Transcendence AU Zine</a>! For more info on the Love Is Enough AU, <a href="https://feferipeixes.tumblr.com/tagged/love%20is%20enough%20au">there are some headcanons on my blog about it</a>!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A car pulled up to the Mystery Shack one peaceful morning in June. It shuddered to a halt near the front porch and sat there with an air of uncertainty, letting the metal frame soak up the sun’s rays in quiet contemplation. Then, a door slammed open and a furious ball of excitement in the form of a teenage girl jumped out.</p><p>“We’re HEREEEEEEEEEEEE!” Mabel Pines screamed, and the world felt just a little brighter.</p><p>Dipper floated out of the car beside her, and she instinctively took his hand. “We’re finally back,” he whispered, even though only his sister could hear him. “I never thought we’d actually be living here again.”</p><p>“You better believe it, bro-bro!” She started skipping toward the shack, pulling both her wheely-backpack and her brother with her. “Let’s go find Grunkle Stan! That old softy was supposed to be waiting out here for us to arrive!”</p><p>“Shouldn’t we, uh…” He eyed the car nervously.</p><p>“Nah, they’re being slow-dee-slow-slowpokes! They’ll find their way in on their own, now come on!” With that, she broke into a sprint and burst through the door to the Shack.</p><p>Behind them, the driver’s door opened, and Mark Pines stepped into the unknown.</p><p>He regarded the Mystery Shack with anticipation. Around it loomed a dark forest, and as he gazed into it he was overcome with a sense of dread. That was the forest his children had spent a summer running around in. The one where they’d fought a demon. The one where his son had...</p><p>There was a grunt, and the passenger door opened. Mark scooted over to help his wife out, but she slapped his hand away playfully. “Come on Mark, I can handle getting out of a car.”</p><p>“Sorry,” he murmured, stepping back so she could get out and stretch. “My nerves are a mess.”</p><p>“I know, love,” she replied with a sigh. “This is a big change. I can’t believe we’re really never going back to Piedmont.”</p><p>Mark shivered, even though there was no breeze. “We can still go back if this doesn’t work. We haven’t sold the house yet. We can figure something else out.”</p><p>Anna sidled up next to her husband and wrapped an arm around his. “You know we can’t, Marky. We were way out of our depth trying to take care of them by ourselves. Dipper and Mabel need someone who has experience with… all of this stuff.”</p><p>She gave him a kiss and a squeeze on the shoulder. “Gravity Falls is where our family needs to be. Might as well get on with it. We’ve got some moving in to do.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Welcome to the Mystery Shack!” Stan announced, waving his eight-ball cane for effect and knocking a stack of books off a shelf. “Though I guess it’s called the Stanley Pines Memorial Library of the Supernatural now. Like that won’t take getting used to. Get in here, I’ll give you the grand tour.”</p><p>“Stanley… memorial?” Mark asked. “But you’re not dead.”</p><p>“That’s what you think!” At their horrified looks, he quickly added, “Only legally! And only in New Jersey, so that doesn’t matter anyway! Look, a distraction!” He pushed them in front of a pedestal, upon which laid an orb filled with dark, swirling colors. “Behold: the Orb of Orb...u...lence! Orbulence! Hey, that’s kind of catchy.”</p><p>Anna shook her head as her husband stared, mesmerized, into the depths of the orb. “Is this where the twins stayed when they visited in 2012? It looks… unsafe.”</p><p>“What?” Stan replied, feigning outrage. “The Mystery Shack is the safest place around!”</p><p>There was a thud as a firebird flew into the closed window beside them, startling both parents. The bird’s form broke apart, leaving a short-lived fire on the windowsill that melted the glass away. Stan barely batted an eyelid.</p><p>“Listen, the world might seem like a big mess to you guys, but I’ve been living right in the middle of it for 30 years.” He grabbed their arms and led them down a hallway lined with bizarre photos. Ghosts, zombies, vampires. Stan with a pig riding a dinosaur and punching it in the face. “Sure, Gravity Falls is the weirdest place around, but everyone’s used to it. You’ll get used to it too. Probably.”</p><p>Mark felt a bead of sweat roll down his face. “We really appreciate you letting us move in,” he said carefully, second-guessing every word. “I know it’s not going to be easy having four more people living in your house.”</p><p>“Don’t mention it! I’d- I’d do anything for those knuckleheads.” There was an audible waver in his voice, which went unacknowledged.</p><p>“Speaking of which, where are our kids?” Anna asked. “They ran off when we pulled into the driveway and I haven’t seen them since.” A little voice in her head whispered that it was just like they were still in Piedmont, and she tried her best to shoo it off.</p><p>Stan shrugged. “I saw the kids when they came in. They’re probably in their room or running around in the forest. Normal kid stuff. They’ll show up later.”</p><p>Neither parent had anything to say to that. All they felt was a sick emptiness settling in their chests. Possibly sensing their discomfort, Stan’s grin thinned. “Hey, uh, how about I show you two to your room. You’ll be staying in the Poindexter Suite! It’s Ford’s room, but he doesn’t stay here much.” Without waiting for a response, he ushered the parents into a room cluttered with strange looking devices. “Sorry, it’s a total mess in here. Meant to clean it up before you arrived but I didn’t want to.”</p><p>Anna furrowed her brow. “Stan, I -”</p><p>There was a loud bang outside, making everyone jump. Stan poked his head out the window and a look of horror spread across his face. “Soos, what did I tell you about using the backhoe to fight gnomes? Only when I’m there to take bets on the winner!”</p><p>“Hey, uh, you two should get comfortable,” he babbled, taking off past Mark and Anna. “I’ve got a, uh, worker dispute to handle.” With that, he was gone, and the silence he left behind was deafening.</p><p>Sighing, Mark collapsed onto the sofa. “I don’t know if I can do this.”</p><p>Anna poked at a device on the workbench, recoiling when it zapped her. “I know. I know! I had no idea how weird and dangerous Gravity Falls was going to be.” She took a seat next to Mark on the sofa and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I guess that makes it just like Dipper and Mabel.”</p><p>He smiled weakly. “Yeah. That sounds like them alright. And maybe that’s why they need to be here. I just don’t know if <em>we</em> can be here.”</p><p>“We have to, though. I don’t want to go back to Piedmont without them.”</p><p>Mark felt a fist clench around his throat, and his eyes watered up. “I don’t either,” he squeaked. “You’re right. If this is the only place they can be happy, we have to suck it up and make it work. It’s not about us. It’s about them.”</p><p>There was another silence, punctuated only by intermittent sniffles from Mark. Anna eventually stood up and unzipped the luggage she’d rolled in with her. Right at the top was a framed photo of the four of them -- her, Mark, Mabel and Dipper -- the one professional photo they’d had taken together when the twins were 11. They still looked so happy and innocent, something neither parent had seen on their faces in the past few years.</p><p>“What if it’s not enough?” Her fingers gripped the photo frame and started to tremble. “What if we do all of this, travel to another state, move in with the man who let the kids get hurt in the first place, and they’re still not happy? What if -”</p><p>Anna’s words were cut off by the sound of shoes clacking loudly down the hall. She and Mark looked up, confused, as a child-sized figure in a suit ran into the room, faster than a person should be able to run. Before they could parse what was happening, it had grabbed their hands and turned, tugging at them to follow. A familiar voice called out in excitement, “Mom! Dad! Come quick!”</p><p>Clawed hands left a tingly feeling in Mark’s palm, and the cogs ground together in his head. “...Dipper?”</p><p>The boy looked back at them and they saw at once everything that had changed. They saw the black-and-gold eyes that would awkwardly watch them on the rare occasion that he was corporeal and they crossed paths at home. They saw the razor sharp teeth they’d had to keep buying teething toys for, and the beginnings of a second row of teeth behind them.</p><p>And they saw that he was smiling with genuine warmth, like he used to before the summer when everything had changed. The smile he had whenever he was excited about something, so innocent and sweet that their hearts swelled with happiness at the sight of it.</p><p>He pulled again. “Come on! You’ve gotta see what Mabel and Grunkle Stan are doing!”</p><p>Stunned feet began to move beneath them as Dipper led his parents through the Shack. Their surroundings were a blur, neither able to take in anything but each other and their son. No words were spoken but the glance they gave each other said everything they needed to say. <em>He’s talking to us! And it’s not out of obligation or awkwardness! He’s talking to us like we’re his parents instead of strangers!</em></p><p>The three of them burst into the light of the outdoors and came to a halt. Dipper put his hands on his hips, near the little wings that had appeared recently, and beamed. “Isn’t this the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?”</p><p>After a beat, Mark and Anna tore their eyes away from Dipper and saw Stan in the middle of the field behind the Shack, using a T-shirt cannon to launch Chipackers into the air. They looked up even more and suddenly every fiber of their beings were screaming in terror because that was Mabel way high up in the air, duct taped to the underside of a pterodactyl, trying to catch Stan’s projectiles in her mouth.</p><p>Dipper shifted beside them. “Mom? Dad? Are you okay? Your auras look… frightened.” His voice cracked on the word “frightened”.</p><p>“Yes! Everything’s just great!” Anna coughed. “Looks like you kids are having fun!”</p><p>“S-such a creative game, too!” Mark forced a smile and failed to make it look real. “Is this the kind of stuff you did when you stayed here?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Dipper said slowly. “But that’s just what Gravity Falls is like.” He sniffed and gave them both a quick hug -- an awkward gesture from an awkward child, but one that spoke volumes to his startled parents. “I hope you guys like it here. Mabel and I really do.”</p><p>Mark and Anna alternated between looking at each other, at Dipper, and at Mabel soaring high in the sky. They stepped together, each putting an arm around the other’s back, and considered the day’s events. “We’re excited to give it a chance,” Anna said finally, prompting another smile from Dipper. “Now go play with your sister. Your father and I have a lot of unpacking to do.”</p><p>Dipper nodded, and ran over to Stan. They watched him jump -- once, twice, three times -- and launch into the air, flapping on wings he’d clearly not yet gotten used to using, and flying up beside Mabel, where he caught a Chipacker in his mouth and high-fived his sister. Their heads overflowed with panicked thoughts about how their kids would get hurt and how they needed to have a talk with Stan about what kinds of activities were appropriate.</p><p>Gripping each other tight, they buried those feelings until a later time. For so long, they’d worried that nothing they could do would be enough to give their children a happy childhood. But now, having moved to a different state so they could watch their children laugh and play, they started to feel like, maybe, love really would be enough.</p>
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